Otherwise, you can find another savior.

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“Everyone will notice, especially when they’re with me,” Shio added. “If this continues, even if no one leaks anything, everyone will notice sooner or later. That’s not good for the director’s reputation.”

“…That’s true.” Olga Marie fell into thought.

She couldn't completely control herself either; whenever she saw the teacher, she felt lightheaded and happy, whether they were talking about serious matters or personal things.

Even their bodies became restless and eager, wanting to get infinitely closer to the teacher and feel his gentleness and warmth.

"Alright, don't worry too much, just let things take their course." Seeing her troubled expression, Xi Jian couldn't help but chuckle. "Mary probably hasn't even noticed it herself, but you've changed a lot lately."

"Huh?"

“You’re not so strict with everyone anymore, and you’re even showing more care for your companions in a more appropriate way.” Shio looked at her. “Others probably just think that you’re trying to change yourself because of the ‘Alien God’.”

“Maybe,” Mary shook her head.

She suddenly understood something.

It's not just because a long-standing, even desperate, love has finally blossomed.

Also because he genuinely wanted to distinguish himself from the "Alien God".

First, there's that condescending attitude.

That arrogance ingrained in the bones of aristocratic magicians.

As she spoke, Shiomi glanced at the other end of the corridor and saw that Romani and the others had already returned to the bridge.

"That might sound strange, but there's nothing else to do. The meeting with Kirshtalia isn't until before dinner." Shiomi's hand rested on Olga Marie's cheek. "Would you like me to keep you company?"

"...It is imperative!"

Chapter 132 Planning

When Olga Marie came out of her room, she awkwardly tidied her hair that was hanging down to her chest, afraid that any imperfection in her appearance would give her away.

"It's all fine now, so don't worry."

Shio, who came out a step later, spoke to her from behind and casually straightened her collar.

"Really?" she asked, sounding uncertain.

"Then let me ask you this in return: can you tell from Orange or Skadi's behavior when they're with me?" Shio asked.

This question stumped Olga Marie: "...No."

In other words, if Shiojian reveals certain facts without explicitly stating them, it would be difficult for others to perceive them.

They came out of the room and prepared to go to the small conference room to meet with Kirshtalia.

The matter we are going to discuss is only of moderate importance, or even too far in the future.

But Olga Marie was thinking about other things the whole way.

"Um, lately the teacher has been spending a lot of time with me... uh, is that a bit inappropriate?" She tried to subtly bring up the matter.

For example, just now, the two of them spent the whole afternoon fooling around in her room.

This is tantamount to depriving them of time alone with him.

"Well..." tide Jian rarely seemed so calm, "You'll know in a while. It's a bit too much for you right now."

"Too...too extreme?"

The word made Olga Marie blush again; recalling what had happened in the room, she felt she had gone too far.

The conservatism of the aristocracy was not limited to their views on magic; they were also conservative in their secular values.

It is somewhat against the rules of Animusfiah to have tasted the forbidden fruit before marriage.

So those things alone were already considered excessive for her.

Of course, if it's purely an act to replenish magic, then there's another set of values.

In a sense, magicians also have double standards.

Fortunately, the path to the small conference room was not short. After making several turns inside the ship, Olga Marie had already returned to normal before that.

"Sorry we're late," Shiomi greeted Kirshtalia.

“I arrived earlier than expected,” Kirshtalia said, standing up to greet them. “Because the director and professors suddenly said they wanted to discuss the future of astrophysics, I had to take it seriously.”

Olga Marie looked at the composed Kirshtalia and once again sighed in admiration, "He truly is Marisbury's number one disciple."

“I have a feeling that Animusfia… is probably going to have a hard time continuing.”

After sitting down, Olga Marie got straight to the point and explained why she wanted to discuss the matter.

"Is it because of the 'Alien God,' or because of the possible existence of human bleaching?" Kirshtalia asked.

While frozen, Kilshtalia, who had contact with the alien god, was unable to learn the full details of the Humanity Purification Project. However, through her genius, she deduced that she was closely connected to her mentor, Marisbury, and even Animusfia.

“Both,” Shiomi said. “No matter how we try to embellish the report after the return of humanity, we can’t shift the blame to a party unrelated to Chaldea like we did with the burning of humanity.”

The Magic King's magic style is completely different from Animusphia's, and is also completely different from the Clock Tower and the Mage Association as a whole.

The former carries a sense of remoteness and etherealness, while the latter is a real family of magicians.

“With your current strength and connections in the Clock Tower, protecting Chaldea and Animusphia under such many responsibilities shouldn’t be too difficult,” Kirshtalia said.

“Preservation is certainly not difficult, but as Mary just said, Animusphia is unlikely to continue.” Shiomi shook her head. “The original body, which has not yet been transplanted and imprinted, has been occupied by the ‘Alien God.’ No matter what the final outcome is, Animusphia’s legacy will suffer a major blow.”

Losing the magic crest passed down for a thousand years is enough to disqualify Animusphia from the aristocratic faction. The Department of Law and Politics will definitely try to either remove Animusphia from the Department of Astrophysics or turn her into a puppet.

“So, Miss Olga Marie means—” Kirshtalia guessed the answer, “Since the loss of the Astronomy Department in Animusfia is inevitable, why not hand it over to a trustworthy person while we still have the power to manage it?”

“That’s exactly what I mean, Kirshtalia Wodim.” Shiomi rested her chin on her hand. “Given your position in the Clock Tower, and the Wodim family’s status, with the support of the former Astronomical Society monarch and other monarchs from both the democratic and aristocratic factions, taking that position and becoming the new Clock Tower monarch should be a piece of cake, right?”

Kirshtalia's conjecture was confirmed, yet he remained unperturbed by either honor or disgrace:

"Don't forget, I was an accomplice in the crisis of human ethics bleaching. After the world is restored, I... no, the Wodim family will also suffer a lot of blame."

“Compared to the responsibilities that Animusphia can’t shake off no matter what, you and the other Hidden Ones will have an easier time getting away,” Shiomi said. “As long as you handle the sharing of responsibilities well at the time, that will be enough. As long as you make enough achievements, the report will look good too.”

The achievement refers to the removal of the alien belt.

“It does sound like a reasonable suggestion. But why?” Kirshtalia smiled shrewdly. “As the current monarch of the Department of Astrophysics, would the Director so easily relinquish his position simply because he realizes that Animusfia cannot be passed down?”

He was more worried about his companions than doubtful.

She was, after all, her mentor's daughter and her fellow student.

Kirshtalia, though calm and strict, is not cold-blooded.

However, his question went unanswered.

Looking away, Kirshtalia noticed that Olga Marie was staring intently at Shiomi, as if she had stopped interfering after Shiomi took charge of the discussion.

“Mary, Kirshtalia is asking you, are you truly willing to give up the throne?” Shiomi reminded her.

“Eh… ah…” Olga Marie paused for a moment, then slumped her shoulders. “There will be resentment, but there’s nothing we can do.”

Moreover, if she is bound by her identity as the head of the Animusfia family, she will eventually have to separate from her teacher.

That's very frustrating.

Whether as a magician or as a woman, Olga Marie wanted to choose a path that suited her better.

Shiomi knew this as well.

“Is that so?” Kirshtalia roughly understood the situation and wisely refrained from pressing further. “Then, regarding the succession of the Celestial Sovereign between the Animusfia and Wodim families, although it seems far off now, I would like to share my thoughts and some details that I believe are necessary.”

"The sooner the better, let's start discussing it now."

Olga Marie was actually very eager to get started, but she tried her best to remain calm.

Chapter 133 Meeting

Based on the intelligence provided by the alien apostle Wuming, Storm Border once again embarked on an imaginary submarine journey, heading towards the two Lostbelts of China and India.

The location where it re-emerged from the imaginary space was chosen to be an area that originally belonged to the Pamir Plateau on Earth.

Despite being a plateau region, the planet, which has been reduced to a blank sheet of paper, shows absolutely no trace of its former high altitude.

Except for the plateau area that has turned into a white sandy land, which is noticeably higher than other areas, the temperature, wind direction, and sunshine are all unchanged.

Humans can move around here, but they cannot survive here for long.

After all, there were no resources available for replenishment.

However, the magic in the air remained normal, maintaining the normal state since the Age of Gods.

“From here, you can see the Lostbelts of China and India,” Shiomi said.

In the operations room, by looking around through the monitor screen, one can clearly see the Lostbelts on both sides of China and India.

More accurately, it is the storm wall surrounding these two Lostbelts.

"Is it true that the alien apostle who attacked Storm Border said that the alien god plans to harvest the remaining two Lostbelts?" Peperoncino asked.

Before Shiomi could explain, Kirshtalia spoke up for him: "There's no need to lie about that. After all, from a strategic perspective, the remaining three Lostbelts' Imaginary Trees are all important magical resources that must be recovered. In fact, the Alien God did the same thing in the Atlantic Lostbelt."

"Next, should we cut off the Indian Lostbelt before the Alien God does?" Kadoc asked. "After all, if we enter the Chinese Lostbelt, we might run into the Alien God..."

Removing the Indian Heretic Belt is to give them a chance to prove their innocence, not to send them to their deaths.

"Is that why we included Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash, so that we could form a new Team A Master squad?" Ophelia asked.

"Dissatisfied?" tide Jian asked.

“…No…” Ophelia turned her head away.

To be honest, she was quite happy to be in the same team as Mash and fight as her Master.

The problem is that both Mashu and Ritsuka have rather limited combat abilities, which is what worries her.

"You don't need to worry about that. In terms of battlefield experience and judgment of the situation, the rest of you might not be able to completely surpass Ritsuka." Shiomi laughed.

After all, Fujimaru Ritsuka was the forty-eighth Master candidate. During the battle of Human Order Burning, because of Shiomi's presence, she did not rush to the front line to fight to the death, but instead served as the backbone and reserve of the team, supporting the battle to repair the singularity.

In terms of experience alone, she has grown to the point where she can have a comprehensive view of the situation, make appropriate judgments, and guide the direction of operations.

In the process of repairing subspecies singularities and micro singularities, Fujimaru Ritsuka has fully demonstrated the corresponding qualities.

In addition, due to Ritsuka's personal desire to participate in the battle, Olga Marie made her and Mash act together as Masters of the new Group A, and to undertake a certain degree of surveillance work on the original Hidden Ones.

“I can guarantee that,” Peperoncino added with a smile. “That girl is both cute and steady. Although she’s only just started as a magician, she definitely won’t be a hindrance on the battlefield.”

“What I mean is—” Ophelia frowned, struggling to express her opinion, “aren’t there people who are even better at combat?”

She was referring to Sakura and Gray.

After being officially released from confinement and granted permission to move freely within the ship, Ophelia requested access to past combat records.

However, in terms of individual abilities, both Sakura and Gray are more suitable.

There's also Karen from the medical department, who can go to the front lines and also stay behind to take care of the wounded. Her skill in healing magic is even higher than that of the elites in Group A.

“They are the second team, responsible for supporting Ritsuka and Mashu when you give up on proving your innocence and choose to betray us.” Shiomi suddenly became serious and stated her reason, “and the execution you will face at that time.”

"..."

Ophelia was speechless.

But that's also true.

They are currently bound by a triple restriction imposed by the Great Witch Morgana, Queen Scáthach, and Goddess Skadi.

If they become unpredictable, their lives can be taken at any time.

Sakura and the others are the reserve personnel who will master this set of restrictions.

“But don’t worry, we’re not telling you to just go straight to the Indian Lostbelt.” Shiomi looked at them. “Peperoncino has provided information about the Indian Lostbelt. In addition to summoning Servants there, Storm Border will also send forces to accompany you.”

“A fairy knight…” Kadoc remembered.

Shiomi nodded: "Or we could have the three Valkyries come along. In any case, Storm Border will enter the Indian Lostbelt together as a base for rear support. I'm not so cold-blooded as to let you fight alone."

Although Kirshtalia's fighting strength alone is already quite considerable.

But as Peperoncino said, Kirshtalia in the Indian Lostbelt may not be able to unleash its full potential.

“At least when I left the Lostbelt in India and headed to Kirshtalia to reunite with it, things were still the same in India. The Last God was still repeating the cycle of destruction and creation every ten days.” Peperoncino looked troubled. “The pitch-black Last God was born after devouring all the Indian gods.”

The reason Peperoncino went to the Atlantic Lostbelt alone was because his Servants had all been taken over by the King of the Indian Lostbelt.

"Don't say that. You were selected for Group A's elite team after all. I have high hopes for your performance," tide Jian said with a smile. "No, I mean your performance."

"That's so easy to say..."